Geese perfect in Keller Invite; Boilers beat buzzer, Chargers

Monday

Nov 26, 2012 at 9:00 PMNov 26, 2012 at 9:04 PM

Galva falls to Henry in Williamsfield championship game

Mike Landis

Wally Keller InvitationalWethersfield 66, Midland 47The host Geese wrapped up the tourney title with Friday night's win over Putnam County, then added the perfect touch with Saturday night's 19-point win over Midland to finish 5-0."I told the boys that if we finished 3-2 with only having four practices together, I thought we would be doing pretty well," said Wethersfield coach Jeff Parsons. "But to finish 5-0 is a tribute to the kids. I couldn't be more proud."Wethersfield junior guard Trevor Lay earned tournament MVP honors, and demonstrated why in the opening half of Saturday's win over Midland.Lay scored 12 points in the opening as the Geese sprinted to a 23-13 lead.Midland hung with Wethersfield in the middle two frames, trailing 48-37 going into the final eight minutes, but the Geese scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to seal the win.Lay finished with 16 points, followed by Cody Phillips with four 3-pointers for 12 points and Kegan Jacobson with 10 points off the bench."Tonight (Saturday) was an indication of how they battled," said Parsons of his team. "They had to dig down and go really deep. We had to expend a lot of energy Friday night, but they came back and did what they had to do."Also Saturday at Wethersfield, Elmwood captured second place by rallying to beat Annawan 55-53 in overtime.The Braves were in control early, jumping to a 15-5 lead at the quarter and 29-17 at the half. Grant Baele had 14 points in the opening half for Annawan, including three 3-pointers in the second quarter.The Trojans rallied behind Nick Jehle to tie the game 45-all at the end of regulation. Jehle hit two free throws in the closing second to force the tie, and added five more points in overtime to give Elmwood the win.Jehle finished with a game-high 28 points, while Baele topped Annawan with 21 points. Tony Gripp chipped in with 14 for the Braves.In Saturday night’s finale. Bureau Valley claimed third place by holding off top-seeded Putnam County 62-54.Parker Neuhalfen led Bureau Valley with 20 points, followed by Tommy Johnston with 14, and Bryce Hansen and Brian Lange with 11 apiece.

Final tournament standings, F-S resultsAfter Wethersfield at 5-0, it was Elmwood and Bureau Valley at 3-2, Putnam County 2-3, and Annawan and Midland 1-4. Elmwood won the fresh-soph tournament, with Putnam County taking second and Wethersfield third.

All-tournament teamJoining tourney MVP Trevor Lay on the squad were Matt Jenkins of Wethersfield, Parker Neuhalfen and Tommy Johnston of Bureau Valley, Nick Jehle and Jake Soehn of Elmwood, Grant Baele of Annawan, Harold Fay of Putnam County and Nick Varvil of Midland.

Orion Tip-Off ClassicKewanee 56, Orion 54Dayton Ince capped a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Boilers Saturday night in Orion, draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the host Chargers.Orion raced to a 22-13 lead at the quarter, and extended the margin to 45-32 after three frames.Ince’s clutch trey completed a 20-3 Kewanee run to close the game and leave the Boilers with a 2-2 tournament mark.Matt Gustafson topped Kewanee with 19 points, while freshman Donovan Oliver chipped in with 16 points and 14 rebounds.Dylan Schultz paced Orion with 22 points.In the fresh-soph tournament, Kewanee fell to Orion 47-37 in the third-place game.Josh Crofton topped the Riveters (1-2) with eight points.

Rockridge wins title, all-tournament teamWest Central Conference rivals Rockridge and Monmouth-Roseville both finished with 4-0 marks in the eight-team Orion tourney, with the Rockets earning the title based on defensive points allowed.A pair of Rockets headlined the five-player all-tournament team — Ethan Happ and Bryan Heath. Joining Happ and Heath were Dylan Schultz of Orion, Jacob Johnston of Erie and Martel Hunter of Monmouth-Roseville.

Williamsfield TournamentHenry 45, Galva 39The Wildcats were in control for the better part of three quarters in Monday night’s championship game, but Henry rallied to claim the Williamsfield title.The defenses dominated early as Henry led 6-5 at the quarter and Galva went on top, thanks to consecutive 3-pointers by Reece Hoxworth and Dexter Ingels, 17-14 at the half.Spurred by a pair of Conner King buckets, the Wildcats extended the lead to 24-17 early in the third quarter. The Mallards answered with six straight points to pull within 24-23, but Ingels drained a 3-pointer and a floater in the lane at the buzzer to push the Galva margin to 29-25 heading into the final eight minutes.A 3-pointer and a three-point play by Hoxworth gave Galva its biggest lead of the night, 35-27, but the Mallards closed the game with an 18-4 run to win the tournament as both teams finished with 4-1 records.Ingels led Galva with 15 points, followed by Hoxworth with 14.The stage was set for Monday night’s championship game by both Galva and Henry posting wins in Saturday night’s tripleheader. The Wildcats cruised past Lowpoint-Washburn 71-34 behind 25 points from Ingels and 23 points from Hoxworth, while Henry defeated the host Bombers 49-34.

Ridgewood Thanksgiving TournamentRiverdale wins title with 4-0 recordRiverdale completed an unbeaten run through the five-team tournament with a 55-47 win over Prophetstown Saturday night.ROWVA and Prophetstown tied with 2-2 records, followed by host Ridgewood and Abingdon at 1-3. ROWVA earned the second-place nod over P-Town by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.ROWVA earned its runner-up finish by defeating the host Spartans 56-55 Saturday night. The Tigers outscored Ridgewood 17-10 in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.Nelson England topped ROWVA with 16 points, while Ridgewood’s James Brooks led all scorers with 23 points, including six 3-pointers.Elisha McCreary added 11 for the Spartans, who made 11 3-pointers in the game.